For those of you who know me, I follow a few artists ... namely, Los Lonely Boys, Madonna, Rolling Stones, Santana, and a few others. In my opinion, you can never go wrong with a good Rolling Stones, Los Lonely Boys or Santana concert...the tried and true music we all love. Sure, they may change their songs, but Mick, with his tight pants, and Henry Garza with his Stacy Adams shoes, will never disappoint.
Then, we have change artists, such as Madonna. My first Madonna concert was in Detroit in the 80s; my ticket stubs are valued possessions. I've seen almost all of her tours and she never disappoints me ...but, she always has different shows. I never know what I'm in for when it comes to a Madonna concert.
I compare face-to-face meetings to the tried and true concerts and virtual meetings to the change artists. Is there a place for both? Absolutely. In fact, I remember when I saw, on TV, Elton John and Eminem together on stage. How in the world could those two play together as they are so different? Yet, in music, they complemented each other.
How can you tie in virtual meetings with face-to-face meetings? As the first leader in the industry to start a "Virtual Meeting Team", within Meeting and Event Services, in 2002, I remember the meeting planners having difficulty accepting the new group...but it worked. Today, that virtual meeting leader and the resources are the best in the industry.
Virtual meetings require a) a meeting architecture specialist, aka, content developer b) hand holding by an empathetic person and c) technology support. From my perspective, A and B may be the same person but C is often a different person/group.
Ask yourself:
* How can virtual meetings complement our face-to-face meetings?
* Do we have the RIGHT support group managing virtual meetings to drive adoption?
* How much savings can we recognize if we move 10% of our face to face meetings to a virtual medium?
* How do we know what to track or measure for the return on investment?
* How will we know if the knowledge was transferred effectively?
* How do we keep people engaged so they don't multi-task while participating in a virtual meeting?
* Do you know which technologies to use?
Recently, almost 500,000 businesses took part in the "Virtual Meeting Day" in the UK. Phil Flaxton, Chief Executive of Work Wise, suggests that "Holding just one virtual meeting typically saves organisations at least £298, 247 miles of travel and three hours’ travel time."
http://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/story/Virtual-meetings-could-save-British-business-billions-/50114
Is your organization more like the Rolling Stones or Madonna?
Debi Scholar, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT
Thank you for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management, business meetings, events, incentives, strategic meetings management, entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground transportation, T&E policy, plus more...
Follow me on Twitter ...http://twitter.com/debi001
and on LinkedIN at ttp://www.linkedin.com/in/dscholar
Comments